UPDATE 1-Brush Engineered Q2 loss narrower than expected
* Q2 loss $0.04/shr vs est. loss of $0.15/shr
* Q2 revenue $174.1 mln vs est. of $150.9 mln
* Sees "slight" profit in Q3
* Sees Q3 revenue of $180-$190 mln
July 31 (Reuters) - Brush Engineered Materials Inc (BW.N) posted a narrower-than-expected second-quarter loss, helped by higher demand for its products and cost cuts, and forecast a profit for the third quarter.
The company forecast sales of $180 million to $190 million in the third quarter.
In the latest quarter, the precious and specialty metal products maker posted a net loss of $0.8 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a profit of $7.2 million, or 35 cents a share, a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter dropped 29 percent to $174.1 million.
Analysts, on average, expected a loss of 15 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $150.9 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
The company also beat its own second-quarter forecast of a loss of about 20 cents a share on revenue of $150 million to $160 million.
"Overall, the company is seeing improvement in its order entry, driven primarily by the consumer electronics-oriented markets. Certain of its other markets... have, however, not shown any significant signs of improvement," the company said in a statement.
Shares of the Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based company closed at $18.83 Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Antonita Madonna Devotta in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)
